Chocolate layer cake

As we are going away this weekend, I have spent my day baking and organising the family, baked heartbreak pies dreamboat slice to take to our friends to say thanks for having us, shortbread to send with my son to granny's so he doesn't eat her out of house and home, chocolate macarons to satisfy my macaron urge and finally a birthday cake for my aunts friends 40th.  It's been a blustery day out there and I've been feeling so melancholy lately so it feels good to bake!  Lucky two out of four things will be sent away with others or else I wouldn't be able to fit my wedding dress.

This cake is a mix and match from a couple of recipes I like...hope you enjoy making and eating it, it's super easy and looks like you slaved for hours in the kitchen.  Sorry I can't cut a piece to show you, you'll just have to make it!

Chocolate layer cake

170g softened butter
1 1/2 c brown sugar
2 free range eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda
1 1/2 c milk
2 1/4 c plain flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 c cocoa

GANACHE FILLING:

250g dark chocolate melts
1/2 c cream

ICING:

250g butter, softened
2 c icing sugar,sifted
1 c cocoa, sifted
4 tbsp milk



Preheat oven to 160 degrees.  Line the base of a 22cm cake tin with baking paper and grease the sides.
Beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until pale and creamy.  Add eggs one at a time and mix well. Dissolve the soda in the milk, then add to butter mixture with sifted flour, baking powder and cocoa.  Beat until combined.  Spoon into your lined tin and bake for about 1 hour or until skewer comes out clean.  Cool completely on a wire rack.

To make the ganache, put the cream into a heavy based saucepan over medium heat, heating until just before boiling point, when it's hot enough add the chocolate and take off the heat and leave for 5 minutes.  Stir until it's all combined and smooth then place aside to cool at room temperature.  It should become nice and thick.

To make icing, beat butter with an electric mixer until very pale and creamy, add half the sifted together icing sugar and cocoa, then the milk, then remaining icing sugar/cocoa.  

When cooled, carefully slice in half horizontally and spread one side with ganache mixture, place one side back on then ice the whole cake with the icing mixture covering it completely.  You could use a piping bag if you wish or just a knife.  Decorate as you wish!  I had to do fondant martini glasses sprinkled with glitter in honour of her cocktail party theme.

Torta di ricotta (Ricotta pie)

This was the cake I recently made for my friends mother, adapted from a cuisine recipe to be entirely gluten free.  If you don't need to just use normal flour.

butter to grease tin
150g almonds, skin on
100g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
6 free range eggs
260g sugar
500g cow or buffalo ricotta
finely grated zest of one orange
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp brandy, frangelico or amaretto
3 1/2 tsp gluten free baking powder
4 tbsp olive oil
100g gluten free flour
cocoa for dusting

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and grease a 22cm cake tin.
For the filling, put the almonds and chocolate in a food processor and grind to a medium crumb.
Put 4 of the eggs and 200g of the sugar in a large bowl and beat well.  Add the ricotta, orange zest, cinnamon, liqueur and 2 tsp of the baking powder, along with the chocolate mix, and combine well.  Set aside.
To make the base, beat the remaining eggs with the remaining sugar and oil.  Stir in the flour and the remaining baking powder.  Pour into the prepared tin and top with the chocolate filling.
Bake for 1 hour until just becoming firm in the centre.  Cool in the tin for a few minutes then turn out and cool on a wire rack.
Serve dusted with cocoa powder, grated chocolate, roughly chopped almonds and orange zest.  Oh and lashings of creme fraiche.

A wintery afternoon tea treat

Decadent caramel slice..

Base:
150g plain flour
70g ground almonds
125g melted butter
160g caster sugar
Filling:
2 cans condensed milk
1/2 c golden syrup
125g butter
Topping:
200g dark chocolate
2 tbsp vegetable oil
pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 180 degrees.  Mix base ingredients in a bowl then press into a baking paper lined 20cm x 30cm tin.  Bake for 15 minutes and allow to cool.
Put filling ingredients into a pan on a low heat.  Stir to melt butter and until it has combined properly, about 5 minutes.  Pour into tin and bake for 20 minutes.  Cool completely in fridge.
Melt chocolate with oil over a double boiler, stirring until melted.  Spread the chocolate mixture over the cooled caramel mixture then refrigerate for a few hours to set.
Slice, eat but give some away or you'll get fat.

birthday cake

It's my friends mothers birthday today....and since she has coeliac disease which means she is totally deprived of dessert choices... I baked her a cake!

Chocolate, ricotta and almond cake...Happy Birthday Marilyn xxx